The one-sided results in the three-game sweep of the Capital One, Gator and Outback bowls made a statement to the Big Ten commissioner and the rest of the college football world.

Are you listening, Oregon? Despite what you may have heard, this is not a down year in the SEC.

Not even close.

In fact, the SEC West, where the big boys now reside, is the strongest it's been since the conference split in 1992.

"The SEC is down" is a popular notion when the conference champion isn't traditional power Alabama or one of the darlings of the past decade, Florida or LSU.

But the longer SEC teams played on the first day of 2011, the better 2010 SEC champion Auburn looked.

That Alabama team that crushed co-Big Ten champion Michigan State 49-7 in the Capital One Bowl? That looked like the most talented team in the country?

That Alabama team finished fourth in the SEC West, and that Alabama team lost a 24-0 lead on its home field against Auburn.

Nice to see the Crimson Tide play like a No. 1 team to start and finish the season, but Alabama wasn't the only SEC team to save its best for last.

That Mississippi State team that bum-rushed Michigan and its record-setting quarterback, Denard Robinson, 52-14 in the Gator Bowl? That delivered the biggest bowl win in State history and the worst bowl loss in Michigan history?

That State team finished fifth in the SEC West, and that State team also lost a close, tough home game to Auburn, although that one came weeks before Cam Newton became Cam Newton!

How tough was the Western Division this season that Auburn won by two games? For his fifth-place finish, Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen earned a new four-year contract worth $10.6 million, an average of $2.65 million a year.

Wow. If Mullen ever wins the West, they may have to give him the deed to the stadium. And a percentage of every cowbell sold throughout the state till the end of time.

While it was no shock to see Alabama and Mississippi State dispose of Michigan State and Michigan, it was a pleasant surprise to see a member of the SEC Least actually represent in a bowl game.

That Florida team that scored the game's final 20 points to pull away from Penn State and win 37-24 in the Outback Bowl? That sent the Urban Cryer out with tears of joy?

That Florida team didn't score 37 points against an SEC opponent not named Vanderbilt or Kentucky. Oh, and that Florida team didn't play Auburn.

Lucky Gators.

The SEC's bowl record went from 0-3 to 3-3 Saturday afternoon faster than you can say, "What's in your wallet?" It's always dangerous to measure conferences by their bowl performances, but there's plenty of evidence that things should get even better for the best league in the land.

The SEC's three best teams by record - Auburn (13-0), Arkansas (10-2) and LSU (10-2) - have yet to play. The league champion Tigers have yet to board a plane for their BCS Championship Game destination.

Alabama's bowl victory gave the SEC four teams with at least 10 wins - all of them in the Western Division - to match the league record. The last time it happened was 2006.

For the rest of the country, that was the year this national championship run of four straight and counting began.